Book Musik 14 – Wendy Carlos’s Switched-On Bach by Roshanak Kheshti

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Tosh and Kimley discuss Wendy Carlos’s Switched-On Bach by Roshanak Kheshti from the 33 1/3 series. Switched-On Bach, an album of Bach compositions played on a Moog synthesizer, is one of the bestselling classical recordings of all time. In the 1960s Carlos worked with Robert Moog to further the synthesizer’s capabilities and with the 1968 release of Switched-On Bach she pioneered an entirely new way of making music. She also wrote powerful scores to several films including Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and The Shining. And she was one of the first public figures to come out as transgender. She’s groundbreaking in both her professional and private life and yet she’s maintained an air of mystery and intrigue that we find very compelling.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik 13 – Scott Walker and the Song of the One-All-Alone by Scott Wilson

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Tosh and Kimley discuss Scott Walker and the Song of the One-All-Alone by Scott Wilson. This will most likely be the smartest book you’ll ever read about a singer-songwriter/musician. But Scott Walker is probably also the smartest singer-songwriter/musician you’re ever likely to encounter. From his early pop idol days as a member of The Walker Brothers in the 1960s to his highly experimental solo albums, Scott Walker is someone who will always challenge and intrigue. Never one to hide his intellectual inclinations, his music has always had strong political and philosophical leanings. Scott Wilson doesn’t hesitate to dig deep into this genius’s work and the well never runs dry.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik 12 – Face It by Debbie Harry

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Tosh and Kimley discuss Face It by Debbie Harry of Blondie fame, probably the most well-known band from the legendary 70s CBGB music scene in New York. Harry was hugely influential as one of the first women to lead a rock band and has spent most of her life hanging out with the denizens of the creative worlds of NYC. Andy Warhol, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith and Jean-Michel Basquiat are just a few of the intriguing people who show up in this memoir. She has some tales to tell but we were left with the nagging feeling that there’s more to the story than meets the eye.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik 11 – This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else: Joy Division: the Oral History by Jon Savage

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Tosh and Kimley discuss This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else: Joy Division: the Oral History edited by Jon Savage. Joy Division seems to be the poster band for the doom and gloom of the industrial city of Manchester, England. This book is a lively telling of their relationship to the city and the development and twists and turns of a young band. Equally important are the key players who helped them along the way including the engaging entrepreneur Tony Wilson, the brilliant producer Martin Hannett and the iconic graphic designer Peter Saville.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik Episode 10 – Golden Hits of the Shangri-Las by Ada Wolin

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Tosh and Kimley discuss Golden Hits of the Shangri-Las by Ada Wolin from the 33 1/3 series. The Shangri-Las were a teenage girl group of the 1960s with a reputation for coming from the mean streets of Queens, NY. Their world was bleak and things always ended badly in the melodrama of their biggest hits like “Leader of the Pack” and “Remember.” They had a huge influence on a diverse group of musicians from The NY Dolls and The Damned to Blondie and Alex Chilton. We venture down the path of their dark world.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik Episode 9 – Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith

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Tosh and Kimley discuss Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith. As a punk rock icon, she rocked our impressionable teenage souls and now she’s taking us on a dreamy literary excursion with her latest memoir. Patti Smith may be best known for her groundbreaking albums “Horses” and “Easter,” but we find that her latest writing takes her to an even higher plane. She shares the ups and downs, both personal and global, of the year 2016 – the Year of the Monkey.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik Episode 8: “A Voice of the Warm-The Life of Rod McKuen” by Barry Alfonso

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Tosh and Kimley discuss A Voice of the Warm: The Life of Rod McKuen by Barry Alfonso. Rod McKuen was a bestselling poet (an oxymoron if ever there was one!) and singer-songwriter/recording artist. In the 1960s and 70s he was at the summit of the mainstream pop cultural zeitgeist. He was generally loathed by critics and the serious literary community and yet after discussing this book we have concluded that Rod McKuen is an essential cultural link to all that we hold dear.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik Episode 7: “Doctor Faustus” by Thomas Mann

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Tosh & Kimley tackle a work of fiction on this episode – Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann. A twentieth-century, German composer (very loosely based on Arnold Schoenberg) makes a devilish deal. We get into the esoteric weeds on this one and focus on the themes of what it means to be an artist in society and why the work of an artist is so mysterious and mythologized. A little Nietzschean nihilism, some blood, sweat and tears and a backdrop of warfare drive this conversation. This book is far too deep for us to cover in full, but we have fun scratching a bit of the surface.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik Episode 6: “Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk” by John Doe with Tom DeSavia

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Tosh & Kimley discuss Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk by John Doe with Tom DeSavia and friends. Having both experienced the L.A. Punk scene firsthand, we found this to be a nostalgic and at times underwhelming look back at a scene that defied definition with bands ranging from the pure pop of the Go-Go’s to the hardcore thrashing of Black Flag. So what is L.A. Punk? We discuss both the Hollywood and Latin influences unique to the L.A. scene as well as the strong graphic visuals and DIY aesthetic that permeated all aspects of the scene. Contributors to the book include Exene Cervenka of X, Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go’s, Mike Watt of the Minutemen, and Henry Rollins to name just a few.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17

Book Musik Episode 5: Charles Mingus – “Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus”

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Tosh & Kimley discuss Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Mingus, the memoir by iconic jazz musician and composer Charles Mingus. Mingus’s memoir is known for its picaresque telling of his childhood growing up in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles and his travels to the California Bay Area as well as his time in New York City. While the book doesn’t give a lot of detail on his musical work or his playing with all the greats of his era, it does give an illuminating perspective on race and growing up and living as a black man in America in the twentieth century. Not to mention his many escapades with pimps, prostitutes and assorted other riveting characters. This book swings like few others!

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17